A stranger like me
by StraightEdgeBroskiPeep
Summary: A RedQueen AU story. What happens when Mayor Regina Mills hits a stranger with her car, what happens when that stranger keeps popping up in her life? Is there something more going on, or maybe just fate and a ten year old boy scheming together. Will the stranger earn a place in Regina's life, or end up being just another person passing through? Featuring your favorite citizens.


**Author's note: So I started writing this story because it was roaming around my mind. I couldn't help it, I just needed to get it down. If people like it, we'll see where it goes. I already have some ideas. I hope you all like it, I can't wait to see what you all think. Be sure to follow me on tumblr at becksthewolf. Viva la RedQueen. **

**-Becks**

* * *

"I don't care, _you_ handle it." Regina snapped, she was irritated and anybody that knew her well enough, knew better than to push her when she was irritated. However, her newest assistant didn't seem to be getting the memo. "Ariel you double-booked me, and now I'm late for dinner. I promised Henry I would be home in time to tuck him in, but that doesn't seem like it'll be happening." Regina grumbled, before letting out a growl and pressing the button on her blue-tooth, hanging up on her assistant.

It was nearing seven, and Regina knew Henry wouldn't be happy that she was breaking her promise to tuck him in. She had promise him, and had every intention of fulfilling the promise but once again her mayoral duties got in the way. She hated the fact that she was missing out on some important times in his life, but she hoped the ten year old would understand.

As if to make her day worse, the gloomy clouds overhead decided to open up and start pouring over the town. She cursed under her breath, her temper matching that of the sky above. If she hadn't have had to go drive all the way out to her campaign manager's house, she would have been home by now. She hated the fact that Jefferson lived so far in the boondocks, but what she hated even more was the fact that her windshield wipers weren't working.

"Seriously?" She muttered, squinting as she tried to see through the water covered window. "At least I'm almost home." She rolled her eyes, when suddenly the headlights illuminated a form walking or rather staggering along the side of the road. Regina barely had time to slam on the breaks and swerve, however it wasn't enough. The side of her car clipped the figure, sending them rolling up the car straight into her rain-covered windshield. The force of the impact, managed to crack it.

Regina was frozen for a second as her car came to a stop. She blinked, and then slowly unbuckled. "Oh my god. Oh my-." She felt like she was going to be sick as she made her way from the driver's seat. The figure hadn't moved from their spot on top of the car. Blood was everywhere, and Regina wasn't quite sure where the blood was gushing from. She crept closer. "H-Hey are you all right? Can you hear me?"

The figure didn't move, but Regina could see the faint rise and fall of their body as it drew breath. "It's going to be okay, I promise, just hold on." Regina said dialing an ambulance. She wasn't sure if she was trying to comfort the person, or rather herself.

"Emma...It's me. I..There was an accident, Henry isn't with me, but I hit somebody. I need you to send an ambulance." Regina murmured, her eyes watching the person, that was still on top of hood of her car. "Em...I gotta go, I think they're trying to move, just hurt." Regina hangs up once more, and looks almost in shock as the figure tries to move, bloody hands pressing against the hood as they try and support their body weight, only to fall and slide back down.

As Regina moves closer, watching intently as the rain washes away the blood from the car onto the ground, she seems to realize that the figure is a woman. A girl who is not wearing much clothing at all, only a red tank-top and what looks to be a pair of boy-shorts. The female doesn't look to be much older then twenty-two maybe twenty-three.

"Hey, hey you shouldn't move." Regina finds her voice her hands reaching out to keep the woman down on the hood. "You could be seriously hurt, you don't want to make it worse." The woman seems to listen to Regina, because thankfully she doesn't move again.

It seems like forever has passed, but finally the ambulance gets there, along with Emma in her sheriff's car. Emma glances to the paramedics letting them handle the woman on Regina's hood, before the sheriff turns her attention to Regina.

"What the hell happened?" Emma asked, her hands finding Regina's face, tenderly probing at a cut that through her shock Regina isn't aware of. "You're bleeding!"

Regina doesn't acknowledge her words at first, her eyes are still on the girl. "I was driving home, and my wipers weren't working. I couldn't see, and she was walking along the road. I didn't see her until the last minute. I tried to swerve, but it was to late. I clipped her leg and well she rolled up onto my car and about went through the windshield." Regina replied, finally averting her eyes to look at Emma.

"Well, it's a wonder she didn't go flying from the impact, it could have been worse I suppose." Emma replied, finally releasing Regina's face, and taking a step back. She doesn't say it, but it's evident that she wants to add, that it could have been worse had Henry been in the car. She doesn't have to say it, Regina could tell from her eyes.

Regina sighed, watching as they loaded the woman into the ambulance. "Can I go with her?" Regina asked, unsure of why she's asking. She needs to be home with Henry, she misses her son, but she's the mayor and she's never seen this girl around before. It's not like Storybrooke is that big of a town anyways, besides having hit the girl she felt rather guilty.

When the Paramedic doesn't put up a fight, Regina finds herself in the back of the ambulance. She wished she could help the men, but she doesn't know how. Besides the other woman isn't moving, and Regina hoped that it's because she's under pain meds and not because she's died or something.

The next few hours were a blur, that left Regina scrambling around as she gave her statement to Emma, she got the blood cleaned off her face, her wound patched up and then sat down to wait for the mysterious girl she hit to get out of surgery. She had just started to doze off, when Doctor Whale came out, his eyes tired.

"Madame Mayor..." He placed a hand on her shoulder, waiting until he gained her attention before he began to speak. "We preformed surgery on the Jane Doe, she doesn't have any identifying marks. I'm sorry, for what you've been through tonight, but I have a few questions of my own."

Regina yawned, she was past exhausted by now. All she wanted to do was be at home in her bed, and yet here she was. "Alright Victor, cut to the chase." She demanded putting on her best mayor voice.

With a sigh, Victor jerked his head in the direction of the operating room that he had come from. "She sustained an injury to her hip and back. Her right wrist and leg are both broken and she has a concussion. She's not in he best shape to be honest, but the fact that you said she moved and tried to get up from the car is a miracle in it's self. She was probably in shock, she's in recovery now if you want to see her." Victor's eyes darkened as he took a step back from the mayor. Being the only doctor in town had it's benefits but also it sucked, because it didn't give him much off time.

The mayor hesitated, she wanted to be home with Henry already but it was her job to take care of the people in her town. "Very well, show me to her room doctor." Regina said, following him to the room.

The other woman looked a lot different in the light of the hospital room. She looked smaller with the bandages, almost innocent in a way. Guilt twisted in Regina's stomach, as she slowly accessed the woman's injuries before glancing back to Victor. "Put me down as her emergency contact, I want to know when she wakes up." Regina stated, before turning on her heels. "I'm going home now, I'm tired." Regina sighed and walked out, thankful for the fact that Emma had brought over a rental car for Regina to borrow while her car was getting towed and fixed.

When Regina finally arrived home, she was too exhausted to do anything but check on Henry and then hit the hay. She apparently slept longer then usual because Henry was on her bed, gently poking her cheek in an attempt to wake her up.

"Mom you gotta get up." Henry murmured, blowing air into her face to try and wake her up.

Regina groaned, and pulled a pillow over her head. "Your breath smells like coco puffs, did you already eat?" She asked her son, her voice still filled with sleepy tones.

"Maybe.." Henry grinned impishly, when his mom pulled the pillow away to fix him with a motherly stare.

Regina sighed and reached out her hand to ruffle his hair. "How many bowls of that stuff did you eat?"

"One...okay like four but I was hungry." Henry shrugged his shoulders and prodded her side. "Granny Lucas says you hit somebody with the car." His eyes were wide. "Did they make you mad or something?"

Sighing, Regina sat up knowing she would have to explain herself to Henry. "I didn't hit anybody because I was mad, I hit them on accident. It was raining and I didn't see them, when I turned the corner."

Henry seemed to accept the logic behind that, and nodded slowly. "Are they dead? Because I don't want you to go to jail." Henry replied, snuggling into his mom's side.

"I'm not going to jail Henry, it was accident. And no they aren't dead, I'm going to go check on them later at the hospital. Doctor Whale said he would give me a call if they woke up." She explained giving him a hug.

It was obvious the wills were turning in Henry's mind. "Can I come with you. I'll draw them a get well soon card." He gave his mom a puppy dog pout, trying to sway her judgment.

"Fine, you can come, but go take a shower and brush your teeth." Regina replied, gently pushing him out of the bed.

After getting dressed and making sure Henry was ready, she drove them to the hospital. She walked in, unsure of what to expect only to find Doctor Whale coming out of Jane Doe's room.

"Oh Madame Mayor, I was just about to call you. She's awake." Victor said smiling brightly, as if he somehow managed to wake her up himself. "But I wouldn't try and ask her to many questions. She's a little out of it, but once she regains her senses, she may not be to friendly."

"Is she a threat?" Regina asked, the thought kind of scaring her. She didn't want Henry around somebody who could hurt him, she didn't even like him talking to strangers. Not many people came to Storybook, it was a small town for a reason.

Victor shrugged, he wasn't even truly sure what to expect of the Jane Doe. He couldn't really warn Regina unless he knew of something specific. "Just keep an eye out." He replied, his voice drowned out by a large crash coming from the room. His eyes widened before he turned, running into the room followed by Regina.

Henry was standing on one side of the bed, the Jane Doe huddled in the corner like a frightened animal. Her broken hip not able to support her wait, had her bent over, and her broken wrist was pressed tightly to her stomach. The woman looked terrified, her fear only increasing when both Victor and Regina entered the room.

"W-Where am I?" She questioned.

Victor stepped forward, trying to put himself between Henry and the woman. "You're at a hospital. There was an accident. My name is Dr. Whale, and you need to get back into the bed. You were seriously hurt." He said calmly as he took another step towards her.

"Stay back!" The woman gasped, every word a struggle.

"He's not gonna hurt you, he's a doctor. He just wants to help." Henry piped up, smiling at her in a friendly way.

Regina grabbed Henry's hand, trying to pull him closer to her and away from Dr. Whale and the strange woman. "Henry you need to go wait in the lobby."

Henry shook his head. "No mom, I can help." He protested, pulling the drawing he had made from his pocket. "Here, I um drew you something. My name is Henry."

The woman looked at Henry. "H-Henry." She repeated, but made no move to get the paper. She wasn't sure she could move with her body in the pain that it was.

"Yeah Henry Mills, and this is my mom Regina. She's the one that hit you." Henry murmured, scooting closer to her. "What's your name?"

This caused the woman to hesitate, she couldn't remember her name. However she did notice the bloody red tank-top the nurses had cut her out of. "R-Red, you can call me Red." She muttered, her eyes watering from the pain as she stepped forward to try and get the paper Henry had drawn her.. It was getting to be too much for her. "I don't feel so we-.." She then proceed to drop to the floor.

Dr. Whale moved forward checking on her, while Regina grabbed Henry and pulled him out of the room. "Come on Henry, you don't need to see that." Regina murmured, her motherly instincts kicking in. She wanted to protect Henry to the best of her abilities.

"Can we come back later? She looked scared." Henry mused, trying to look back at the room. He didn't want Red to be alone. "Red doesn't have anybody."

"Well Red doesn't need us to take care of her. She has the doctors, who hopefully will be able to find her family." Regina muttered, lost deep in thought. She guided Henry towards the entrance of the hospital.

Henry frowned, he didn't like anybody being scared or lonely. "Well maybe my picture will help calm her down." He decided, hoping his words were true. For being ten, he cared an awful lot about adult people. It's not like there were a whole lot of kids his age in town anyways.

"You need to eat, you'll need to eat to get your strength back."

Red looked at the doctor and shook her head. She wasn't hungry she was to focused on trying to remember who she was. "I don't wish to eat." She said watching as Dr. Whale scribbled note onto her chart. She knew she was in a hospital, but everything else was blur. She had been there for almost a week now, and yet it felt like nothing was coming back to her.

"If you don't eat we'll have to stick another IV drip, to make sure you don't wilt away while you're in that hospital bed." Victor warned, though his eyes were soft as he watched her. He felt bad for her, he knew what it was like to feel lost, he himself suffered from depression issues. "I lost my brother once, no amount of begging and pleading brought him back. Somebody is probably out there looking for you, you need to keep your strength up so you can heal and go back to them."

Red sighed, and rubbed at her temple. "I don't feel like I belong here." She said with a sigh, looking around the room she was confined to.

"Not many people like hospitals." Victor murmured in agreement, he looked her over before moving to the door. "At least eat the pudding, and we'll see if we can't get you out of this room for a little bit."

It was then that Henry walked into the room, looking over his shoulder as if to make sure he wasn't followed. He pushed past Victor and smiled brightly when he saw Red. "Hey." He greeted, flashing her a smile.

Red's face lit up a little bit, when her eyes landed on the boy. "H-Henry right?" Red asked almost surprised to see him again. "You're the one who drew me the picture."

The boy nodded his head. "I came here to check on you, and see if you were feeling any better. I drew you some more pictures." Henry said pulling out his binder.

"Does your mom know you're here Henry?" Victor asked, raising a brow.

Henry gave the doctor a look and sighed. "She'll only know if you tell her, just give me a few minutes Doc." He said giving Victor a pleading look. The doctor muttered under his breath, before leaving the other two alone in the room.

"I don't want you getting in trouble Henry." Red stated, unsure of why the boy was even here. It was sweet though and it wasn't like she got many visitors anyways.

He shrugged his shoulders and showed her some of the picture he drew for her. "I know it must be lonesome being in the hospital all day, so I drew some pictures. Just because you're in the hospital doesn't mean it can't be like a home." He climbed up on the bed sitting next to her.

Red smiled at him, slowly looking through the drawings. "That's really sweet of you. Thank you Henry."

"Anytime, so um..you gonna eat that?" Henry asked nodding to the tray of food next to her bed.

Giggling, Red shook her head. "Not really, I don't like apples. The doctor says I need to try and at least eat the pudding though."

"Ew..No don't. The pudding here is disgusting as is the jello. " Henry scrunched up his face and stuck out his tongue making a disgusted face.

That made sense to Red, it wasn't like she wanted to eat anyways. Her stomach growled however, and she knew that she had to try and at least get something down.

"Do they have a cafeteria here?" She asked, watching as Henry seemed to light up again. "I don't know if I can actually leave the room, but I'm could kill for some actual food."

Henry hopped down off the bed. "Operation viper." He quickly hurried from the room, only to come back a minute later pushing a wheel chair into the room.

"Where did you get that?"

"It's a hospital, they're full of them. They leave them all over the place, now come on. We have to be sneaky." Henry said, trying to help the injured woman into the wheelchair.

Red cursed under her breath, but managed to get in the chair. "Remind me not to underestimate you kid." She replied, trying to relax as Henry pushed at the wheelchair, trying to get her out of the hospital room.

They were about halfway to the cafeteria, when a stern voice called out from behind them. "Henry Mills, just what do you think you're doing?"

Henry froze mid-push. "Busted." He said with a sigh, he turned the wheel chair around, to look at his mom.

Regina wore a frown on her face as she regarded Red and Henry. "And you, what are you doing letting my kid try and help you escape?" She questioned glaring at Red.

"We weren't escaping mom, she was hungry so we were going to get some food from the cafeteria." Henry explained.

Red looked sheepishly as she finally spoke up. "I'm sorry ma'am. I just haven't been out of the room in days, and Henry here was being a friend."

Regina folded her arms. "What business do you have being friends with a ten year old boy?" She asked harshly, trying to be protective of her son.

Henry's eyes widened. "Mom I came here. She needs a friend, and to have a friend you gotta be a friend. Why are you being so mean to her?"

"I'm trying to protect you." Regina said grabbing Henry by the wrist. "Come on, let's go." She said ushering the reluctant boy away.

All Red could do was just sit there, in disbelief. Henry had tried to befriend her, and Regina was treating her like a bad guy. She didn't understand why somebody thought she would do that, it wasn't like she was going to use Henry, she wasn't a sick freak looking to take advantage of an innocent child. However she supposed she could see Regina's point, Henry's innocence could be taken advantage of.

"So I heard you were mean to the Jane Doe you hit." Emma mused, fixing Regina with an unamused glare. It was their weekly thing to meet at Granny's and drink some coffee together. They would talk about Henry, and in an odd way they had developed a friendship.

Regina shook her head staring down at the coffee cup. "I don't think I was being mean to her, I was just trying to protect Henry."

Emma raised a brow. "By basically calling the Jane Doe a pedophile?" Emma rolled her eyes. "Regina I get protecting Henry, I really do. But being nice to people isn't a bad thing, you owe her an apology."

"Apologize?" Regina scoffed shaking her head. "I won't apologize for taking care of our son. I have his best interest at heart."

Emma sighed. "You hit her with your car, get to know her before you condemn her. Maybe if you play nice she won't press charges on you for hitting her."

Regina glared, she didn't want to make amends, but she knew Emma had a point. If she made peace with the other woman, then maybe she wouldn't have to deal with that issue in the next election. Besides if her son insisted on spending time with the other woman, it wouldn't hurt to get to know her a little bit better.

"Fine tomorrow, I'll go down there and get to know her." Regina mused, deciding that would be the best course of action.


End file.
